Anti-fracking group wants more state oversight after earthquake ruling

Ohio high court frees Prade pending appeal

TB case in Elyria prompts calls for testing

Army Corps agrees to dump dredging waste on-shore, this timeDredging will begin as scheduled next month in Cleveland’s downtown harbor at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today that it will dump the sediment in shoreline containment facilities.

The Ohio EPA had blocked the Army Corps' original plan to dump the potentially hazardous sediment in Lake Erie. The EPA contends that pollutants such as PCB’s and heavy metals in the sediments are above levels safe for open water disposal.

The Army Corps says this is a “one-time” solution and will work with state and federal agencies to plan for next year’s dredging of the shipping channel.

Anti-fracking group wants more state oversight after earthquake rulingA concerned citizens' group in northeast Ohio says it won't take the word of state regulators that new permitting guidelines adequately address public safety in the region where earthquakes have been tied to fracking.

A state geologist's finding last week for the first time linked earthquakes in the Utica Shale to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The state's review called the link "probable."

The finding led Ohio to issue a moratorium on fracking within three miles of the seismic activity's epicenter and to issue new permit conditions viewed as among the nation's strictest.

The group says a Youngstown State University geologist has identified 12 earthquakes near fracking activity.

Ohio high court frees Prade pending appealThe Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that former Akron Police Capt. Douglas Prade should remain free while the courts continue to deal with his conviction in the murder of his ex-wife 16 years ago.

Prade maintains he was not the killer. And after reviewing new DNA evidence, a Summit County judge ordered him freed last year and ordered a new trial.

Prade was released pending that. But an appeals court said the evidence against Prade was overwhelming, and ordered him to be jailed pending the outcome of new appeals.

Prade argues he poses no threat, and in a 4-3 decision this morning, the justices agreed he should remain free at least pending the outcome of a jurisdictional question.

TB case in Elyria prompts calls for testingA case of Tuberculosis has health officials in Elyria concerned about the spread of the infectious disease.

The Morning Journal reports that Mercy Hospital’s TB Clinic is recommending testing for the disease at several locations frequented by the infected patient.

Mercy is offering free TB tests to patrons and staff at two bars in Elyria who might have come in contact with the individual.